Once in that treacherous old Shanghai era, many mighty gangsters emerged, such as Du Yuesheng, Jin Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin and so on.
However, in the film and television drama, there is also such a famous legendary big man - Xu Wenqiang.
Xu Wenqiang's character is a fictional character based on the background of the old Shanghai era, and I believe that audiences who have not seen "Shanghai Beach" have more or less heard of it, and his deeds of becoming a generation of tyrants in Shanghai Beach from a grassroots counterattack are still widely circulated in the stories of the Republic of China.
There are two theories about Xu Wenqiang's prototype, one is Du Yuesheng, one of the three tycoons in Shanghai, and the other is Xu Baochu, a native of Xujiashan in Pujiang County. Either way, they are all people with patriotic feelings and national righteousness.
In the film and television drama, there are a total of five male stars who have played Xu Wenqiang, let's take a look at it, who of these five male actors has performed the gangster style of the Shanghai Beach generation?
1. Zhou Runfa
In 1980, the version of "Shanghai Beach" launched by Hong Kong Wireless was a memorable masterpiece for many post-70s and post-80s audiences.
After the premiere in Hong Kong that year, the drama produced a huge sensational effect, not only set a very high rating in the local area, but also became popular after being introduced to the mainland, and even influenced the creation of Later Chinese film and television dramas, deriving a series of Republican drama booms set against the background of the old Shanghai gangster fights in the early Minchu.
Although the 25-year-old Zhou Runfa had just debuted, his acting skills were already very skilled, and Zhao Yazhi's real and natural performance deeply touched every audience, and the two stood together as a pair of enviable people.
From the current point of view, although the scenes of this drama are a bit rough, because of the wonderful performances of actors such as Chow Yun Fat, Zhao Yazhi, Lui Liangwei and Liu Dan, as well as the wonderful script that provides space for actors to perform, it has become a model in the history of Hong Kong TV dramas.
This short 25-episode TV series can be said to have influenced the memories of several generations, and many classic scenes in the drama have also become the bridge sections that many film and television dramas have competed to emulate in the future, such as the scene where Xu Wenqiang holds an umbrella for Feng Chengcheng in the snow.
And when Feng Chengcheng got married, this section of Xu Wenqiang running to the church is also an unforgettable classic.
In the instant after rushing into the church, Xu Wenqiang shouted out a sentence of "Cheng Cheng", he did not say a word again, but just watched helplessly as Cheng Cheng continued to wear Ding Li's ring.
The lens of everything, only to see this man's helplessness, reluctance, heartache, loneliness... Every look is filled with complex and tangled feelings.
After that, I put on my top hat and forced myself to turn away with tears in my eyes.
Xu Wenqiang, played by Zhou Runfa, is personable and serious, and can be called the best male god representative of Shanghai Beach, who did not love this man who wore a gentleman's hat, a white bib, and loved to smoke cigars.
And the image of Feng Chengcheng, played by Zhao Yazhi, with two twisted braids and wearing a cheongsam, has also become a collective memory of that innocent era.
This part of the romantic encounter between the two in the snow is so sue and sweet that it still lingers in the minds of many viewers.
2. Zhang Guorong
In view of the sensation of Chow Yun-fat's version of "Shanghai Beach" in the 1980s, in 1996, Hong Kong prepared a film version of "New Shanghai Beach".
Although this version of "New on the Beach" has less influence, the starring team is quite powerful, Zhang Guorong's version of Xu Wenqiang, the tranquil version of Feng Chengcheng, and Andy Lau's version of Ding Li, each of which is a strength faction that combines appearance and acting skills.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that Zhu Yu is in front, even if the film has a super luxurious lineup, it is still full of strong mass base beyond the former.
However, looking back now, I still admire the courage and determination of the creator at that time, and the plot of the whole film not only did not copy the TV series, but even the character personality was also drastically changed.
Xu Wenqiang, played by Zhang Guorong, has changed from the original intellectual youth to a soldier who fled after being forcibly recruited by the Japanese invaders, because he was ambushed by Japanese agents, fell into the sea and drifted to the beach.
Later, in order to avoid the pursuit of Japanese agents on the train, Xu Wenqiang took Feng Chengcheng as a hostage in a hurry, and the two became acquainted.
From the perspective of appearance, the appearance of the brother and Zhou Runfa have their own advantages, in terms of character shaping, Xu Wenqiang, played by the brother, has more of a wandering and wild male brother atmosphere, combined with the character of the version, he is a perfect integration of his own temperament and role, creating a new Xu Wenqiang.
Of course, this movie also has flaws, that is, the emotional line is not as throbbing as the TV drama version, the whole film is more fragmented, and after watching it, I only remember the "fragrant" picture of my brother and Serenity in the bathroom.
And Xu Wenqiang's feelings for Feng Chengcheng are not deep enough to shake himself, just like Xu Wenqiang's first reaction when he learned that Feng Chengcheng, who he loved with him, was the girl that Ding Li pursued, and his first reaction was to go to Ding Li to explain and try to save his brotherhood.
Overall, this film is flawed, belongs to a very innovative work, whether it is the actor or the plot, the production level is quite brilliant, but there are pearls and jade before it has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so it was finally covered up.
3. Chen Jinhong
Broadcast in the same year as Zhang Guorong's film version of "New On the Beach", there is also the TV drama version of "New on the Beach" starring Chen Jinhong and Chen Songling.
It is said that at that time, Chen Jinhong knew that Xu Wenqiang, played by Zhou Runfa, was a classic in the minds of countless people, so he did not dare to take this role, but the agent secretly signed it, and later he did not want to compensate for the high liquidated damages, so he hardened his scalp.
In order to play the role of Xu Wenqiang, Chen Jinhong copied the script four times and laid his own strength in a very short period of time.
In the end, after the drama was broadcast, Chen Jinhong's fame and career were promoted, and many viewers left messages saying that they liked Chen Jinhong's elegant and calm literary and artistic youth.
With the same big back, black coat, and white scarf, Chen Jinhong is more polite and polite than Zhou Runfa, but the book is too angry, and there is less of a cool and powerful sense of the beach gangster.
4. Huang Xiaoming
The mainland version of "New On the Beach" was first released in 2007, with Huang Xiaoming playing Xu Wenqiang and Sun Li playing Feng Chengcheng.
This edition can be said to be based on the 80-page gourd painting scoop, but it is a pity that it is difficult to draw the skin of the tiger, and Huang Xiaoming and Sun Li are very different from the Xu Wenqiang and Feng Chengcheng in everyone's impression.
Sun Li's acting skills are passed, but the image is too strong, less of the intellectual femininity of the big miss; and Huang Xiaoming's appearance is OK, helpless to pretend to be × overdone.
To be fair, Huang Xiaoming's appearance is really very good, handsome, but it is also too deliberately handsome, the various smoking and spitting poses in the play, eager to show the whole world the feeling of "Lao Tzu is the most handsome".
There are also more than a dozen Japanese agents armed with knives and guns, and one person tears the devil with his bare hands unscathed, and he can also beautifully concave the shape, this picture is comparable to the anti-Japanese drama!
Of course, the most complained about is the classic snow umbrella scene, Xiao Mingge did not even show the minimum gentlemanly demeanor, the whole time only cared about himself, completely did not take care of the woman.
All of the above shows that this is an "idol" drama of the Republic of China that only imitates the skin and has not yet obtained the essence.
5. Dawn
Once, someone asked Zhou Runfa who was most optimistic about xu Wenqiang's successor, and Zhou Runfa blurted out: "Dawn."
Later, Dawn really lived up to Zhou Runfa's expectations and played Xu Wenqiang once in the movie "Gentleman's Road".
This film integrates the original fictional characters such as Xu Wenqiang and Ding Li into the real historical background, from the "July 7 Incident" to the victory of the War of Resistance, so that the characters are combined with the background of the big era, making the film more educational.
Although Xu Wenqiang, played by Dawn, is a little older, his appearance and temperament are leveraged, and from the perspective of the first trailer, the calm and introverted image is also very suitable for the role.
Unfortunately, the film has not been released since 2010.
Originally, it was to be broadcast on national day in 2015, but a few days before the release, the director was sentenced to a lawsuit, and then the film became a victim, and has disappeared since then.
It has been forty-two years since Zhou Runfa's version of "Shanghai Beach" was first broadcast in 1980, during which several actors have challenged the role of Xu Wenqiang, but they have not surpassed the classic, and I think it is difficult to find a male star who can compete with Zhou Runfa in today's entertainment industry.